In this file photo, traffic passes over the I-270 Chain of Rocks Bridge. The Illinois Department of Transportation is currently looking at replacing the bridge, which was built in 1966 and is near the end of its planned life.
GRANITE CITY – A public meeting to discuss the proposed replacement of the Interstate 270 Chain of Rocks Bridge and related changes near Riverfront Drive in Missouri is set for May 4 in Granite City.
The bridge replacement and Riverfront Drive improvements are a part of a larger project by the Illinois and Missouri departments of transportation.
The meeting will be from 4-7 p.m. at the Southwestern Illinois College’s Granite City Campus, 4950 Maryville Road, Granite City.
The meeting will have an open house format with exhibits on display. Illinois Department of Transportation and Missouri Department of Transportation officials will be available to discuss the project and answer questions.
Mary Lamie, executive vice president of multimodal enterprises for the Bi-State Development Agency, the parent agency of St. Louis Regional Freightway, recently discussed the importance of the I-270 improvements.
Approximately $600 million has been earmarked for the bridge replacement project.
The existing four-lane bridge was built in 1966 and is near the end of its planned life. The traffic count has also risen dramatically, to about 51,000 vehicles per day from 19,000 in 1975. About 20 percent of the bridge's traffic is heavy trucks.
The total 1-270 corridor project has an estimated cost of approximately $1.2 billion, and includes expanding lanes, improvements to approaches and other work on both sides of the river, including major changes to the interchange at Illinois 111.
Written comments will be accepted at the meeting, and can also be made within 10 days following the public meeting. In addition, comments can be submitted online via the project websites www.idot.illinois.gov/projects/i-270-over-the-mississippi-river and https://www.modot.org/i270-and-riverview-drive-interchange-project.
The meeting is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Anyone requiring special assistance may contact Billie Owen, IDOT studies and plans project engineer at 618-346-3209, or Lis a Kuntz, MoDOT project manager at 314-453-1879. Anyone needing a sign language interpreter or similar accommodations may notify Illinois Relay at 800-526-0844 or 7-1-1. All requests should be made at least five days before the meeting.
Trained as a photojournalist, Scott Cousins has 40 years of experience covering all aspects of news, primarily in the Metro East. His primary beats for The Telegraph in Alton include Madison County government and criminal filings, and he remains committed to the idea that a newspaper's first responsibility is to inform the public about what government is doing.